Coyote and the Shuswap Falls - Okanagan

A long, long time ago when the world was young and fresh before
hatred and
greed and strife were known, Eagle, Dear, Elk, Fox, Coyote, and all
the
other animals and birds lived in peace and harmony together.

Coyote's home was in a lovely but lonely place far away from
everyone. There
he had no one to talk with, no one to play with, no one to feast and
dance
with. At last he became so lonesome that he decided to invite all his
friends to a great feast and festival. If they had a good time, as he
thought they would, he would invite them once every year.

So he set to work and built rapids in the river, rapids that ended
in a
waterfall. Then he made a big kettle out of stone, with legs under
it, and
hung it over the falls. He built a fish-trap also of stone.

Beside the waterfall he made a stone seat, where he could sit and
watch the
fish being caught in his trap and being cooked in his kettle. There
too he
could talk with his friends while seeing the sports and watching the
feasting.

When he had made everything exactly as he wanted it, the buds on the
fir
trees were just bursting. By this sign Coyote knew that the first
salmon
were on their way up the rivers. So he called aloud for his friends
to come
and feast. His voice could be heard far and near, as it can to this
day. On
every hill and in every valley, his friends heard, his
voice, "Listen !"
they said.. "Coyote is calling us. Let's go."

As they called out to him along the way, Coyote recognized the
voices of his
friends. He knew the roar of Grizzly Bear, the howl of Timber Wolf,
the
snort of Elk, the hoot of Horned Owl, the cry of Eagle, the chatter
of
Kingfisher. He was so happy and so excited that he ran round and
round,
trying to catch his tail. Soon all the animals and birds had
gathered beside
the river. Great was their amazement when they saw all the wonders
that
Coyote had built there. For half a moon they camped beside the
rapids and
the waterfall. They caught salmon in Coyote's fish-trap, cooked it
in his
kettle, feasted and danced and enjoyed all their sports. By day and
by
night, the first burned brightly, while Coyote visited and played
and lost
his loneliness.

When the time came for the festival to end, all his friends shook
Coyote's
hand with grateful hearts. All promised to come again next year when
the fir
trees were bursting into bud. Everyone went home happy.

All this happened a very long time ago. But still the rapids and the
waterfall, the kettle and the stone seat can be seen in the river
where
Coyote built them for his big party. And every spring you can hear
the
invitation call of Coyote and the answering calls of his friends.

Okanagan and Shuswap
Shuswap Falls are in the Shuswap River in the southeastern British
Columbia.

From Blue Panther Keeper of Stories.